Pepperoni Pizza Can Be Murder

by Chris Cavender

  “No, but I looked at it. It’s a different kind of place than where I am now.”

  “Less upscale, maybe?” I asked as we walked toward the front open-air stairway.

  “No, more transient,” she said. “These places are rented month to month. Mine is a yearly lease.”

  We walked up to 14A, and as I knocked on the door, it swung open.

  The place was empty, cleaned out of all personal possessions.

  “She’s not here,” I said.

  “That’s pretty obvious,” Maddy answered.

  “So you got some bad information.”

  She raised an eyebrow at that. “It was good as of last night.”

  “Are you trying to tell me that she moved out this morning?”

  “How should I know?” Maddy asked.

  As we were talking, a thin, sallow man in his forties walked into the apartment.

  He smiled at us, and then said, “Ladies, we’re not ready to show this unit yet, but we’ve got a lovely two bedroom on the other end of the building that just opened up. Why don’t you let me take care of a few things here, and I’ll meet you there. I’m the building manager.”

  “Isn’t this where Katy Johnson lives?”

  “Lived,” he said. “She moved out this morning, after being here eight months. Funny thing, though, she still had fourteen days of rent she’s already paid. I’ve had plenty of folks sneak out a few days past their lease, but not many who go with money still on the books.”

  “Did you happen to see her?”

  He nodded. “I was taking out some trash and found her by the Dumpster. She was in a hurry to get out of here, let me tell you. I started to tell her that she could have her security deposit back after I checked her place over, but she told me to keep it. That girl was in some kind of hurry to get away.” He looked around the place, and then said, “It needs a coat of paint, but that’s not her fault. I’ve been meaning to get around to it, but I never seem to have the time. Now, this unit on the end I was telling you about would be perfect for you two.”

  “We’re not looking for a place to rent,” I said.

  “Then why am I standing here talking to you when there’s work to be done?” he asked with a smile. “If you’ll excuse me,” he said, “I’ve got to get this place ready to rent.”

  “Do you mind if we look around anyway?”

  “Suit yourself,” he said. “I’ve got to go get my painting supplies.”

  When he was gone, I looked at Maddy, then studied the abandoned apartment and said, “This doesn’t look good for Katy.”

  “Maybe she just needed a change of scenery.”

  “And maybe she’s on the run.”

  Maddy frowned as she looked around. “Come on, Eleanor, would you live here if you had any other options in the world? This place is more than a little depressing.”

  “Apparently, it didn’t bother her that much for the past eight months. There had to be another, more compelling reason for her to leave so abruptly.”

  “The timing is a little off, I’ve got to give you that.” Maddy started digging through a box of Katy’s discards.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Looking for a clue about where she might have gone,” Maddy said. “Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty, princess. Dig in.”

  I chose another box near the front door. “While we’re at it, let’s keep our eyes open for a motive to murder.”

  “We don’t have all day,” Maddy said. “The manager will be back any second, and I’m not sure he’d appreciate us pawing through this.”

  She was right. There were too many discarded papers in the boxes. I took everything but paperwork out of mine, then dumped Maddy’s box inside, too. It was so full I could barely close the cardboard flaps, and on an impulse, I threw the old telephone book on top of all of it.

  “And how are we going to get that past the building super? I don’t think this guy misses much.”

  I shoved her toward the door. “That’s where you come in. Go charm him while I smuggle this to the car.”

  She started to protest when the manager came back into view.

  I shoved the box behind the door as my sister told the manager, “I never got your name.”

  “It’s William Stratford,” he said. “And you are?”

  “Single, William,” my sister replied. “How about you?”

  The poor man actually blushed. “I never had time for a wife, what with my career and all.”

  It was all I could do not to laugh out loud at that, but Maddy never even skipped a beat. “Business is important, but you must be awfully lonely.”

  He couldn’t even look her in the eye. “I get that way from time to time.”

  Maddy threaded her arm into his. “Why don’t you tell me about it while you show me this apartment vacancy you’ve got? I can suddenly see some real advantages to living here.”

  If she batted her eyes any harder, I was afraid she was going to take off like a helicopter.

  He bought every bit of it, though, and when they left, I doubted that he even remembered I’d come with her.

  Once they were gone, I did one last check of the place, but if there were any clues to Katy’s sudden disappearance that weren’t in the box, I’d have been surprised. I carried the whole thing outside, nearly tripping over the paint cans in the outdoor hallway where the super had abandoned them.

  I put the box in my car, and then waited impatiently for my sister to come back so we could leave. It was almost time for us to get to the Slice, and I didn’t want to be late. There wasn’t going to be any rushed dough today. We’d been closed—through no fault of our own—and I wanted everyone who came in to remember why they bought their pizzas and subs at our place, and not somewhere else.

  I was about to give up on her when Maddy came tearing down the sidewalk. She got into the car, and then said in a panting voice, “Let’s go.”

  “What happened? Did the shy Mr. Stratford get a little fresh with you?”

  “It turns out that he isn’t all that shy when no one else is around.”

  I laughed loudly. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Trust me, I wouldn’t lie about that. I wonder if that’s why Katy left. With that masher for an apartment manager, I doubt she felt very safe.”

  “I still can’t believe it,” I said.

  At that moment, I saw William Stratford come around the corner, so before he could get any closer to the car, I put it in gear and drove off.

  I looked back in my rearview mirror, and then told Maddy, “Turn around.”

  “Why?” She did as I asked, and no doubt saw Mr. Stratford standing in the middle of the parking lot, waving frantically at us, or, more likely, at my sister.

  “The things I do for you,” Maddy said.

  “It’s for the team, and I take my own share of hits,” I said.

  Maddy nodded. “I know, I know.” She shivered once, and then asked, “Is there any time to go back to my apartment before we open?”

  “Why?”

  “I need a shower after that encounter,” she said.

  “Sorry, but a good washing up in the sink is going to have to be good enough. We’ve got work to do.”

  “More crime solving?” Maddy asked.

  “No, pizza making,” I said. When I saw my sister’s frown, I added, “Don’t worry, as soon as we get the dough started and you’ve got the toppings prepped, we’ll dig into that box and see what we can find.”

  “It’s a deal,” she said. “But here’s another thought. Why don’t you prep the kitchen, and I’ll start searching for clues?”

  “Maddy, I need you to stay focused. The sooner we get our work done, the sooner we can start looking.”

  “Spoilsport,” she said.

  “You know it.”

  When we got to the pizzeria, I parked in back, as was my custom, and Maddy went around to collect our box of what, hopefully, were clues about Katy’s vanishing act.

  W
e were both in back of the car when I heard a voice I’d been hoping I wouldn’t hear for a while.

  There was no dodging it now, though.

  I had no place to run.

  “Where have you been?” the police chief asked me as I turned around.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I had to check in with you wherever I went, Chief,” I said. I tried to shield the box from him, but it was clear he was curious about what was in it. I decided to tell him before he asked. Not the truth, but something that might ease his suspicious nature, not that he wouldn’t be right on the money this time. “It’s just some old stuff for recycling,” I added.

  He nodded, then reached out and took the telephone book on top. Was Katy’s name anywhere on it? I hoped not, because I was going to have a hard time explaining why I had it, and worse yet, the contents of the rest of the box I was holding.

  He leafed through it, and then flipped it back on top. “I’ll take it for you. I’m going to the recycling center this afternoon.”

  He made a move for the box, and then Maddy quickly appeared and said, “Thanks anyway, but we’ve got some trash to sort out first. Was there a reason you were looking for my sister, or are you just serving and protecting everyone in Timber Ridge?”

  “I just want to make sure you’re all right being here alone after the murder and the robbery.”

  “I’ve nearly forgotten about it,” I lied. I doubted I’d ever be able to get rid of that image of the gun shoved in my face, or the body on the floor of my kitchen, but he didn’t have to know that.

  Kevin looked long and hard at me. “Eleanor, why don’t I believe you?”

  I shrugged. “It’s just your nature, I guess.”

  Maddy laughed. “If I’d have said that, you would have thrown me in jail.”

  Obviously not the least bit amused, Kevin answered, “I’d have to have more cause than that.” He paused for a few seconds, and then asked, “How was your big date last night, Maddy?”

  She reddened slightly. “How on earth did you hear about that?”

  “Don’t kid yourself,” he said sternly. “There’s not a whole lot that goes on around here that I don’t know about.”

  That stung Maddy a little, I could tell by the way her breath sharpened. I needed to stop this little trade-off of jabs before she said something I’d later regret. “Thanks for checking on me, but if I’m going to have dough ready by noon, I’d better get started on it right now.”

  He tipped his cap to me. “I understand.”

  We started to walk away when he called out, “By the way, has either one of you seen any sign of Greg Hatcher this morning?”

  “No,” I said simply, and Maddy shook her head as well.

  “How about last night?”

  “I haven’t spoken to him since you and I talked last,” which was the plain and unvarnished truth. Whether the chief of police believed me or not wasn’t my problem. It felt good to be able to tell him the truth, even if it was a change of pace for me recently.

  “If you hear from him, call me,” Kevin said.

  “So, the real reason for your concern becomes apparent,” Maddy said.

  “Why can’t it be about both things?” he asked.

  “I’ll let you know, Chief,” I said.

  He seemed content with that, and after we turned the corner, I said to Maddy, “Do you always have to go out of your way to antagonize him?”

  “No, but usually it’s worth the trip. I’m not about to let him bully you while I’m standing right beside you.”

  I looked at her a second. “Are you sure it’s not because he brought up your date with Bob Lemon?”

  “That’s irrelevant,” she said.

  I shoved the box into her arms as we neared the door. As I did, a piece of paper fluttered out of the telephone book. Maddy took the box, and I retrieved the paper.

  As I looked at it, Maddy asked, “What does it say?”

  “Give me a second.” I opened the paper and found a telephone number written on it. “It’s just a number,” I said as I showed my sister.

  She put the box down on the ground in front of the pizzeria’s door and pulled out her cell phone.

  “What are you doing?” I asked her, though I was pretty sure about the answer.

  “I’m calling it, what do you think?”

  I reached for her phone, but she must have anticipated the move, because she pulled it out of my reach at the last second.

  “Hang on,” she said as she moved it to her ear. “It’s ringing.”

  I pulled her phone away enough so we could at least both hear. After four rings, a voice came on. “Hello, this is Wade Hatcher. I’m not here, but if you’d like to leave a message, you know the drill.”

  There was something about that voice that tweaked my memory. I was still pondering it when Maddy said, “It’s no surprise that Katy had Wade’s number.”

  “Hang on a second,” I said as I waved a hand in the air in front of her. To my continued shock and amazement, my sister actually did as I’d requested, but whatever tenuous connection I’d made was gone.

  “Never mind. I thought I heard something in his voice that I recognized, but I was wrong.”

  Maddy wasn’t about to accept that, though. “Let’s listen to it again.”

  “It’s no use,” I said.

  “Come on, you have to at least try.”

  She punched redial, and a few seconds later, it was back.

  It took me a full ten seconds, and I had to focus sharply on the inflection of his voice, but then it hit me.

  “He’s the one who robbed me,” I said.

  Maddy looked at me as if I’d just announced I was going to sell the business and move to Alaska. “How can you be sure? I thought you said he whispered when he held you up.”

  “He did, but there’s something in the quality of his voice that makes me believe that he’s the robber.”

  Maddy was quiet for a few seconds, and then she said, “My first reaction to hearing that recording was that he sounded an awful lot like Greg.”

  I’d realized that myself, but I didn’t say it aloud. “Greg didn’t rob me.”

  “Are you sure? I’m nearly as big a fan of his as you are, but how can you be sure it was Wade and not Greg?”

  “Because I know Greg Hatcher, and he’s not going to rob me. He knows if he needs money, he can have whatever I’ve got, no questions asked.”

  “The voices are similar,” Maddy repeated. “I’m just saying.”

  “No, I don’t believe it. He could no sooner rob me than…”

  I left the sentence hanging in the air, but Maddy finished it for me, anyway. “No sooner than kill someone?” she asked. “Is that what you were about to say?”

  I nodded, too appalled to speak it.

  “Maybe we don’t know Greg as well as we thought we did.”

  “He didn’t kill anybody,” I said, but it was pretty clear my voice was losing conviction as shades of doubt began to creep into my mind.

  “Still, I think we both need to be careful when Greg comes back.”

  “Don’t you mean ‘if’?” I asked as I unlocked the door.

  “No, he’ll be back. There’s not much doubt about that. I’m just wondering when it’s going to happen.”

  Maddy retrieved the box, and after she was inside, I relocked the door so we could work in peace. She carried it back into the kitchen, and then deposited it on a stool by the counter.

  We both kept ignoring it as I measured the warm water and yeast out for the first batch of dough. As I added other ingredients to the mix, my gaze kept going back to the floor where I’d seen Wade’s body. I couldn’t get the image out of my mind, and I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever be able to wipe it clean. The sight of his body lying there, the bloodied rolling pin, and the thin-crust pizza were burned into my retinas.

  And then I asked a question I should have been wondering about from the moment I saw the crime scene: “Where did the pizza
come from, Maddy?”

  She looked confused by the question. “You make them every day.”

  “I’m talking about the one I saw beside the body.”

  “I just assumed it was one of ours,” she said, a frown creasing her lips.

  “The kitchen was clean, though. Nobody made it after I left, or there would have been dirty dishes.”

  “He could have cleaned up after himself,” Maddy said uncertainly.

  “If Wade even knew how to make a pizza, he wouldn’t be able to clean up so we wouldn’t realize someone had been in our kitchen. Look around. Is there a single thing out of place back here, except for the fact that the rolling pin is missing?”

  I looked again as Maddy scanned the room. Finally she said, “No, it’s how we leave it at night.”

  “And not even Greg knows our routine back here,” I said, with more than a little relief in my voice.

  “That means someone brought a pizza with them after we closed. Who would do that?”

  “And, more important, why?”

  I wiped off my hands and grabbed the telephone.

  Maddy asked, “Who are you calling?”

  “I need to know if Kevin held on to that pizza.”

  I dialed his number, and he nearly growled at me when he answered.

  I didn’t let his tone bother me, though. “Do you still have that pizza you found beside Wade’s body?”

  “Of course I do, it’s evidence. Don’t tell me you want it back.”

  “I’ve got a hunch I never made it in the first place,” I said. After I explained my theory to Kevin, he said, “Don’t go anywhere. I’m going to get a big cooler, and then I’ll bring it by.”

  “I’ll be right here.”

  After I hung up, Maddy asked, “Why would someone bring a pizza from some other place to a pizzeria?”

  “I’m not sure, but I’m going to give it some thought until I can figure it out.”

  I went back to my dough, and my thoughts kept returning to the box of Katy’s discards as I worked. I was hoping that if I distracted myself enough, my subconscious might give me an idea of how the errant pizza had ended up in my business. The box was intriguing as well. Could there be a clue to what had happened to Wade Hatcher buried among Katy’s papers? And would Maddy and I be clever enough to find it, if there was? I had my doubts about both counts, but we had nowhere else to be at the moment. As soon as we got a little downtime, we’d have to start digging into the pile and see if we could make any sense of it.